Forever
by windedeagle
Summary: Jesse and Suze are married, and it looks like the family might be expanding. But Suze isn't about to let something so silly as a pregnancy slow her down.
1. Chapter 1

PART I

Jesse stopped on a dime in front of the old white house.

"This is it?"

He smiled, careening his head to see though the tint of the window. "This is it."

I hit him on the side of the head.

"You waisted two-hundered thousand dollars of our savings . . . for this?"

He rubbed his head where I had hit him. "Yes," he said. "I did."

"And you want to turn this . . . this . . . piece of ninetieth-century junk into a doctor's office?"

"Yes," he said, still clam. "I do."

"And do you realize it's old? As old as you? And we'll probably have to get rid of, like, twenty ghosts before we can do anything in it?"

He sighed. "Have a little hope, Susannah."

I stared at him. Jesse was an amazing guy, that was true.

I mean, he had died, came back to life, graduated collage, finished med school in three years, been resident of the month for a total of fourteen months, been resident of the _year_ two years in a row, been offered a shift manager job at UCLA six months before he finished his resident hours . . .

And had turned it all down to live here, in Carmel, and open his own practice.

So albeit he's amazing, he can make some pretty stupid decisions.

"_Susannah_," he groaned, putting his head on the headrest. "Just come see the inside. Once you do you'll see I'm right."

I laughed. "Me? In there? So the ghosts can find me? Not a chance."

He took a deep breath. "I've been in there numerous times. There are no ghosts."

"Oh, there are ghosts. Ghosts just aren't attracted to you like they are me."

He sighed and, getting out of the car, came and opened my door.

"Out," he said.

I shook my head.

To my surprise he reached in, unbuckled me, picked me up, and carried me up the three steps to the front door, me kicking and screaming the whole way.

He unlocked it and pushed me in.

The room we first walked into was big - it must have been a living room. The walls and floors were made of a sturdy looking wood, and the large windows on the front had been cleaned so that the sun shone in brightly.

"It's perfect for a reception room. All we need is some chairs and couches."

"And paint," I said. "And a serious termite bond."

He sighed, but ignored me. "Here," he said, pointing to the back wall, "we can have a reception desk. Then back here," we walked to the hall behind the living room, where there where several doors, "we can have three exam rooms, as well as the bathroom. Then the kitchen." He showed me the room farthest away which had appliance outlets and plumbing for a kitchen.

He led me up the creaky steps next, and showed me the large bedroom he planed to use for an office. "And," he said, gesturing to the reaming two rooms, "we have room for files and simple lab equipment." He eyed me speciously. "What do you think?"

I shrugged. "It's your thing."

"No, it's not," he said, taking my hand. "It's ours. You're going to be right here with me."

I sighed. "It's okay, I guess. It's just going to take a lot of work. A lot of favors from Andy."

He smiled. "You think he'll help?"

I shrugged. "Probably. Especially since he's not doing much, now that Brad's kind of running his company."

"And we will have to do the painting and things of that nature."

"I know," I said.

"But I did have it cleaned, so we don't have to worry about that."

"Seriously?" I asked, looking around.

"Yes," he sighed.

"So when are we going to start?"

He sighed wistfully. "Tomorrow, I guess."

L7L7L7L7

That night we laid in bed without talking. I was still kind of pissed he blew that money on that . . . _house_.

We were facing opposite ways, and I made _sure_ that we weren't touching. I heard Jesse sigh.

"Did I make the right decision?" he asked quietly.

I didn't say anything, hoping he would think I was asleep. But then guilt rushed over me and I sighed and snapped, "I don't know, Jesse."

"Because I have a thirty day termination agreement. We can move to Los Angles and I can have job security. We can have _financial_ security."

"But you would hate it," I said. He didn't answer, and I turned over so I could look into his eyes. They shinned clearly, even in the darkness of our room. "And you wouldn't get your dream. There would be no reason for you to have become a doctor - because all you have ever wanted to do is have your practice."

He just looked at me, silently agreeing.

"I'm sorry I'm being a butt about all this." I sighed. "Are we turning into an old married couple that fights all the time?"

He laughed. "Three years of marriage hardly counts as _old_."

I took my hand through his soft hair. "It's just . . . well, a chance, I guess, that I'm a little scared to take. I like the ways things are now."

"Maybe I should stay at the hospital, then," he sighed.

I sighed, too. "No, Jesse. Just because I'm comfortable doesn't mean it's what's right."

He put his hand on my hip. "So what do we do?"

I smiled. "Pick out paint tomorrow. I was thinking a nice subdued green for the waiting room. Oh, and tile."

He smiled, too, and kissed me. "Thank you, _querida_," he whispered. "For setting my mind at ease over all of this."

"That's what I'm here for," I said with a smile, and kissed his nose. "Go to sleep now, Jesse. We've got a long day of painting tomorrow."

L7L7L7L7

We picked out our paint and hauled all five buckets of it into the house.

I showed Jesse how to paint evenly with the roller, and we split sides of the room.

I guess this wasn't so bad. I mean, the house was pretty, and Jesse told me the inspector had given it the all-clear before he had bought it.

It was a smart decision on Jesse's part, I guess. Our other alternative would have been to rent an office space a little further into town, and have to pay rent every month. At least we could, eventually, pay this house off.

And the view form the "exam rooms" (they had been bedrooms at one time) was really beautiful - you could see the sand and the waves over the little hills of the dunes. Very relaxing, I guess you could say.

I dipped my roller in the paint, and, taking my time, watched Jesse. He looked so wonderful, with his shirt raising up to expose his back and his muscles flexing.

I took one of the paint brushes we had laying aside and, after dipping it in paint, flung it up and down, splattering Jesse's back with paint.

He stopped his even rolling on the wall and slowly turned my way.

I smiled at him and flung some more paint at him. This time it got in his hair and on his face.

He sighed and re-wet his roller. "You really shouldn't have done that, _querida_," he said, trying to be ominous about it.

"Why?" I asked with a smile.

He came over to me and, grabbing my wrist so I couldn't run, pulled _off_ my shirt and painted a long strip down my torso.

I stared at him, shocked, as he threw my shirt on the ground and smiled at me. "Oh, it's on, Jesse."

We went on for about ten minutes painting each other's bodies, taking off piece by piece of our clothes. One thing led to another, and, well, you get the picture.

After we had, um, dried off, Jesse pulled one of the many old blankets covering the floor over us. I snuggled into his shoulder and sighed.

"You finalized it, Susannah," he whispered in my ear.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up to see his smile.

"Well, we can't sell it now that we've had _sex_ in it. On the floor."

"With paint."

"With paint," he agreed.

I laughed. "You know, I don't think I really want to sell it anymore. Too many memories already."

He laughed, too.

My phone, which was in the back pocket of my jeans, which were laying to the left of me, started ringing.

I fished it out and answered.

"Suze!" Andy said happily. "I was just going to stop by and see what kind of work you wanted to do on that house."

"Oh! Sure, come on. But - where are you now?"

"Just pulling out of the driveway. Be there in ten minutes."

"Okay! See you then!" I hung up the phone and said, "Get dressed," to Jesse.

"Why?"

"Andy's coming in ten minutes."

"Susannah, _querida_, look at me."

I did - there were green handprints all over him . . . especially in a certain area of interest.

"Oh well," I said. "Just put on your clothes and we'll say we . . . just got really into painting." I sat up and pulled on my underwear, then my bra. (Which, thanks to my wonderful husband, now had a big strip of green down it.) My jeans and t shirt followed.

Jesse got dressed, too, and we started picking up after our little escapade.

By the time Andy knocked on the door, it looked just like it had a half hour ago. Except for us, of course.

"You two get into a paint fight, or something?" he asked, looking at our paint-stained arms and feet and various other places.

I inwardly groaned. You could probably see the green strip strait through my white tee.

"Yeah," Jesse said calmly. "You know how Susannah likes to start things."

"Hardy-har," I said, letting Andy through the door.

He looked around. "Wow," he said. "Nice place. You said you got a deal on it?"

Jesse gave me a satisfied smirk.

"Yeah," I said, "but there's a lot of work that needs to be done. A _whole_ lot."

"Like what?"

"Well," I started, "we need to build a big receptionist's desk back here, and we need shelves in the rooms and the stairs are super creaky, and the plumbing - "

"Just a few things that we would be happy to pay you for, if you can help us," Jesse said, cutting me off. I crossed my arms, but held my tongue.

"Well," Andy said, rubbing his chin. "I hate to ask you to pay - "

"It's no problem," Jesse said with a smile.

Andy shrugged. "How bout half price for family. I'll get Brad to send a team out tomorrow."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Sure, kid. Of course, I'll want some free doctor's visits in return."

Jesse gave me another smirk.

L7L7L7L7L7

The day passed with no further revelation. I fact, it ended like any other day - me, seducing Jesse before he could seduce me. My head on his warm chest while our breathing calmed down. My ear on his heart.

"Susannah," he said, a low vibration in his chest.

"Mm-hum."

"I have been meaning to ask you . . . When do you want to, um, think about having children?"

I paused, then pulled myself up onto my elbows to look at him. "_Think_ about it? Or actually _do_ it?"

"Um, both."

I sighed. "Jesse, I don't know. I mean, trying to start the practice and everything is a lot on us right now, don't you think?"

His eyes flew over my face, looking for an answer. "So how long?"

I sighed. "Another year or two. Don't you think?" I took my hand through his hair.

He looked a little dejected. "I'm not getting any younger, _querida_."

I laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that, Jesse. You're my stud, remember?" I played with his hair.

"But you aren't getting any younger, either, dear."

I sent him a hard look. "I'm twenty-seven, Jesse. That's hardly over-the-hill."

"I know. I didn't mean it."

"You better not have," I growled.

"Forget I even mentioned it," he breathed, and rolled over.


	2. Chapter 2

The practice was up and running by June. We saw our first patient on the third, and had twenty-five new patients by the end of the month.

In July we grew even larger, and by September we had forty patients even.

By November we needed a brake.

Thank God we got one.

We were all over for Sunday night dinner - the whole family, I mean.

David and Brad were still unmarried, though David had a steady girlfriend in LA, where he lived. He was over some department for Apple, and came to visit for Sunday night dinner once or twice a month.

Jake and Summer couldn't be happier - Summer had sprung the news of a baby on us four weeks ago. Approximately twenty minutes later my mother sprang the new on me that we would be hosting the baby shower.

Yea.

Other than that, things were the same. We even all sat in the same places around the table.

"So," my mom said after Andy had served us his creme brulee. "Andy and I's eleven year anniversary is coming up."

An awkward silence followed.

"Yea, Mom and Andy," I said quietly.

She sent me a look. "And, since we couldn't get away last year, I thought that we could all take a trip this year, as a family."

"Yea, Mom and Andy!" I said again.

She smiled. "We've already booked it and everything. Is Hawaii alright with everyone?"

Hawaii? God, she had to pick the place I had already been.

But I could use a good tan . . .

"We're game," I said.

"Are you sure?" my mom asked. "I know you just started the practice, and all."

"It's easy to find a sub doctor," Jesse said. "I actually know one."

"Yeah," I said, seconding him. "Ben's a sub doctor."

She smiled. "Wonderful! We're thinking about early February - Summer, you'll still be able to fit into a swimsuit, don't you think?" my mom asked with a smile.

"Oh, sure," she said. "I can find one." She patted her stomach proudly.

"I think I can get off," David said. "And maybe Cathy can come."

Brad frowned at the other end of the table.

"Aw," I said to him. "Odd man out."

"Shut up," he growled. "I might bring someone."

"We're all getting tried of the blow-up doll, Brad," I teased. Jake laughed.

"Shut up, Suze, or . . . " He grumbled and shook his head.

"Enough," my mom said. "Suze, help me with these dishes. Oh, Summer, you sit back down," she said when Summer stood with her dish. "You don't need to be doing things like this."

I rolled my eyes as I took a few dishes. My mom had gone head-over-heels for Summer every since the baby news. It was like Summer was behaving in a good daughterly fashion while I was over here wasting my good ovulating days away.

In fact, as soon as we were in the kitchen, she said, "When are you ever going to give me a grandchild?"

"Summer's due in about eight months. Can you not wait that long?" I turned the disposal on to grind up the left over lima beans.

"Oh, honey," she said, leaning against the sink. "I'm happy that she's having a baby, but it's nothing like if _you_ were. You're my daughter."

The image of me reclined on a bunch of pillows with a huge stomach and my mom feeding me grapes popped into my head. I pushed it away and put the first dish into the sink. "Mom, it will happen. I promise."

"Are you trying?" she asked hopefully.

"Mom! That's _our_ business." She smiled at me, and I groaned. "No! We are not _trying_. We are going to wait another year or two."

"Honey, if you wait that long you are going to have to have your second child right off."

I turned my head to glare at her. "What makes you think I'm having more than _one_?"

She shrugged. "I thought that maybe Jesse wanted a big family."

I sighed and put a dish in the washer. "One kid in another year, okay? Keep pressuring me and we'll adopt."

"Oh, Susie," she said, shaking her head. We finished the dishes in silence, and I told her goodnight and headed back to the dining room, where Jesse had stayed to hear Summer talk about the joys of pregnancy. He pulled my down on his knee.

"And I just keep getting sicker and sicker," she was saying, playing with her bleached hair. "But they told me it wouldn't last past the fourth month. Oh!" she said when my mom walked in, "I get my ultrasound next Tuesday - I'll have to bring the pictures over!"

"Please!" my mom said, getting that look in her eye again. "Have they officially set the date?"

"June twentieth."

"Great!" my mom said. "That way we can use the deck for the shower. Oh, it's going to be wonderful!"

The clock dinged eight in the other room. "We have to go," I announced. "Gotta get to work tomorrow."

My mom hugged me and hissed, "Remember what we talked about," in my ear. I was glad Jesse pulled me out of the room before I could yell at her. I mean, seriously. This was my life, thank you. Not to mention my body - which would be horribly deformed by stretch marks.

I swore to my self I wouldn't ever be like this to my own child. Not only was it annoying, it was a little creepy that she kept asking about our sex life.

Jesse took my hand as we drove. I looked over at him. He would make a great dad, I knew.

L7L7L7L7L7

Our Hawaiian vacation three months later started out on a bad note.

I had unpacked all my toiletries in our big bathroom. Actually, there were bigger bathrooms in the five bedroom house that Andy and my mom had rented out for the week. Bigger bedrooms, too. But I wasn't complaining about the king bed and huge balcony. Not at all.

I went through my bag and put everything on the vanity: shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, razor . . .

I laid everything out and stared. What was missing? Hairbrush? Check. Flat iron? Check. Birth control?

Oh shoot.

I hit my head - and not very lightly, either - with the heel of my hand. I remember pulling it from my bag this morning to pop out the tiny white Monday pill . . . and never putting in back. The pack of pills was still on my vanity at home.

I opened the bathroom door and leaned against the frame. Jesse was hanging shirts, and smiled over at me. "Is something wrong, Susannah?" He didn't seem too concerned.

"I left my birth control at home."

He gave me the saddest look I had seen in a long time. "Does that mean we can't . . . ?"

"No, we can still fool around. But I'm afraid you'll have to be the one in charge of birth control, for a change."

He frowned again, but not as deeply. "That's alright, I guess."

"As for me, well, I'll just have to put up with what my unmedicated hormones are going to dish out to me for the next month. But that's okay. I'll just start my next pack in three weeks."

"What will happen?" Jesse asked. They obviously didn't go over this in med school.

"Well, it's kind of like when someone is on drugs, then they go off them cold turkey. My hormones have been on a very nice drug for, what, six years? And now they might get a little angry. Mood swings, cramps, very long, awful periods, breaking out, the whole nine. But it's my fault, in the end."

He came to the threshold of the bathroom and put his arms around me. "But you took it this morning, right?"

"Yeah, that's actually why I forgot it."

He smiled. "Then we still have twenty-four hours until I have to, as you said, be in charge?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

He kissed me long and hard. "Then let's not waste a second."


	3. Chapter 3

PART 2

It started like any other day, the Day That Changed My Life Forever.

I woke up to Jesse's alarm. He slept straight through it, as usual. The man could sleep through an A bomb. I climbed over him to switch it off, them collapsed on him. He stared, and then sighed and wrapped his arms around me.

Just like any other morning.

Then he went and go in the shower. I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until he came to kiss me goodbye, since I roll into the practice about the same time the first patient does. But that's why I quit my old job, right?

I showered and got dressed, then flat ironed my hair and ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Just like any other morning.

It was when I went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth that I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

No, not a ghost. This was much scarier.

It was my birth control pack.

The toothpaste drooled out of my mouth and into the sink. I quickly spit it out and picked up the medicine.

We had been back from our trip for five weeks now. This pack ran out a week ago and . . . still no period.

No. No, no, no. It was just my hormones, just my evil little hormones, sitting inside my ovaries, trying to freak me out. Trying to get back at me for taking them off their drugs. I got it. Well, nice try, hormones. Let's see who is in control of this body.

But, even though I told myself it was all an evil plot to freak me out and that taking a pregnancy test would be a waste of ten dollars, - or how ever much a pregnancy test was - I still couldn't help grabbing my keys and walking out ten minutes earlier then usual. Then, as I drove down the streets of Carmel, congested with commuting traffic, glanced at my clock and remembered we needed laundry detergent. And I _was_ early. And at the four-way intersection where the Walgreens was.

And, while I was in there, maybe I would just _scan_ over the pregnancy tests, just to look at them. I mean, what if they had warning signs of pregnancy on them? Then I could read them and put my mind to ease - because I am _totally_ not pregnant.

So I got the laundry detergent and just _happened_ to walk by aisle three, which was the_ feminine care_ aisle. And I just _happened_ to see the pregnancy tests, all the way at the other end of the aisle, in all their bright colors.

And I just _happened_ to need tampons - when I started my period, I mean, because I was, you know, _so_ not pregnant.

And the pregnancy tests just happened to be next to the tampons, and the Clear Blue Easy-Read (now with quicker results!) kind just happened to be on sale for eight-ninety-nine.

So I thought, why not? And, now that I think of it, I didn't need tampons. I bought some two weeks ago.

So I went to the check-out, where the cashier smacked her gum and handed me my change without even looking at me, and then to my car. It wasn't until I was in my car and driving down the street that I realized that I had _really_ done it. I had bought a pregnancy test.

I pulled into the newly paved lot of our practice and turned off my car. The newly erected sign that read De Silva Family Practice was to my right. The old house, with a fresh coat of white paint, was to my left.

I grabbed the plastic bag in the passenger and pulled out the test. It's purple, happy box fit into my purse easily.

Another car pulled into the lot. I hurried out of my car an up the stairs, then dashed in the front door.

"Susannah?" Jesse called from the other room. "Is that you?"

I felt guilty about the test instantly. My cheeks flushed and pushed my purse under the receptionist's - which would be me. The receptionist, I mean - desk then yelled, "Yeah. I had to pick up some laundry detergent. Sorry I'm late."

"It's alright," he called back.

The person who had pulled into the lot came in. He was holding a kleenex to his nose and he smiled at me with red eyes.

The only thing I could think of, as he walked closer, was_ I really shouldn't be exposed to this_.

But why did I think that? I mean, I was exposed to this everyday. I told myself to stop being ridiculous.

Jesse walked around the corner at that minute, to my immense relief, and said, "Good morning, Mr. Ferguson. How are you?"

"Not that good," he said back nasally.

"Well let's see if we can't get you feeling better. Come on back. Susannah, will you pull Mr. Ferguson's file?"

I smiled and nodded, trying not to breath the air around me. I sat in the rolling chair and pulled out the drawer of the file cabinet with the F's on it. I found the file, since the cabinet wasn't _that_ full, and went to the first exam room, where Jesse and his patient were. The door was open, and Jesse didn't even stop talking when he reached over for the file. I gave it to him and retreated to my desk again.

I check all the emails. I put stamps on bills. I put them in the mail box. I straightened up the sticky notes on my desk.

Finally, with a sigh, I leaned down pulled my purse out from under the desk. There was the test, bright and purple and inviting. It just screamed _Pee on me! _

I took it out and flipped the box over.

_The Clear Blue Easy Read is the most advanced pregnancy test of it's time! You can get results in just five minutes, with the simple reading _Pregnant _or_ Not Pregnant. _The Clear Blue - _

"And that should make you feel better by tomorrow," Jesse was saying. I jumped and nearly dropped the test. I pulled open a few drawers before finding an empty one to throw it in - the file cabinet with the B's.

"Thank you," Mr. Ferguson said. He signed the papers I had put on the counter of the desk and left.

"When is our next appointment, Mrs. de Silva?" Jesse asked with a smile.

"Um, ten-thirty," I said, looking at the appointment book. Jesse nodded.

"I'm going to do some bills, then." He leaned down . . .

. . . and reached straight for the B cabinet.

I panicked. If he opened that drawer and saw that test he would freak out - I just knew. So I sat forward in my seat and wrapped my hand around his head and kissed him, hard.

I kissed him for a good minute. He didn't protest, but when I let go of him he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was that for?"

"Um, because I love you. I'll file that." I took the manilla folder from him.

"Oh. Okay, then, _querida_." He put his lips to mine once more and went upstairs to his office.

I blew out the breath I had been holding. Close call.

The test was like a beacon of light when I opened the drawer. I picked it up and filed the folder, then looked over the box once more. I rose from my seat with a sigh, as well as a quick decision, and went around the corner of the waiting room, by the stairs, and into the bathroom, which was across the narrow hall from the kitchen.

I shut and locked the door, then opened the box and threw it into the garbage. The directions were included, thank God, so I read them - but it was plenty self explanatory. Pee on stick. Wait five minutes.

I peed on the stick and sat it on the vanity. The little read out said nothing right now.

The phone rang from the other room. I jumped and put the pregnancy test in the cabinet under the sink, then ran to answer it.

"De Silva family practice," I panted into the phone. If, in fact, I _was_ pregnant, which I highly doubted I was, I was going to sign up for some pregnant yoga at the Y. I need more exercise for sure.

"Susannah?" It was Jesse, calling from upstairs. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just dandy."

He was quiet for a second. "Will you bring me the red folder sitting on your desk? The one that says taxes on it?"

"Yeah." I tried to sound like my breath was under more control. I picked up the red folder and hung up the phone, then went up the narrow stairs to his office.

Jesse's office had once been a bedroom, and it had a huge bay window to his back that overlooked the growing city of Carmel. I don't know why he had picked this room - I would have taken the one across the hall with the impressive views of the water, not of traffic and a McDonalds.

But he had liked it, for some strange, Jesse reason, and we had painted the walls with the left over green from down stairs and bought a big oak desk and a rolly chair and it had turned into quite the office.

I handed him the red file. He grabbed my hand and pulled me around the desk, then pulled me into his lap. I rested my head on his big, strong shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright, _querida_?" he asked softly. "You don't look too well." I felt his warm hands on my cheeks and forehead.

"I'm fine, Jesse," I said, then smiled up at him and kissed his chin. "I promise."

"Alright, then," he whispered, and kissed my forehead. "Maybe we can go out to lunch today? I think we are out of Lean Cuisine's."

I glanced at the clock on his computer. It had been four minutes. "Yeah. That sounds great. I have to go, um, do something." I unwrapped myself from his arms and went back down the stairs.

But no sooner had I reached the last step did the phone ring, and I cussed under my breath and went to get it.

"De Silva family practice," I mumbled, well over being chirpy this morning.

"Suze? It's Mom. We have to go shopping for this shower, honey. It's in two months!"

"Mom, this isn't a wedding."

"Oh, honey, I know." I could here her coworkers behind her when she sighed. "It's just that Summer's family is going to be here, and, well - "

"They're loaded and you want to make a good impression?"

She sighed again. "Is that awful?"

"No, Mom. That's human. Listen, I promise this weekend we can go shopping but I am so busy with the practice and all . . . " _Lie, lie, lie_.

"Oh, I know, honey. It's fine. Maybe Saturday?"

"Sure. That sounds great." The door opened across the room and I glanced at the clock to see it was already ten-thirty. "I got to go, Mom. I'll call you Saturday."

"Okay, honey."

I let the phone drop back onto the receiver. The woman that had walked in seemed to have the same crap the man had had this morning. She smiled at me and coughed and put her name down.

I picked up the phone when the woman went to sit down and Jesse picked up. "You're ten-thirty's here," I said, pulling her file at the same time. There was nothing like double tasking.

"Great. Put her in room two, will you, _querida_?"

"Sure thing." I put the phone back on the receiver. "You can come with me," I told the patient, who dropped her phone into her purse and followed me to the exam room.

"Your views are lovely," she said nasally as she pointed to the window.

"Thanks," I said with a smile, trying not to breath. I laid her folder down and went back out front. There was two people there, and they had both signed in.

This is how things continued until noon. People in, people out. People sick, people well. It was a never ending process.

Jesse saw the last patient out and retreated to his office. He had, apparently, waited until the last minute to do our taxes. But I wasn't mad - he had a lot on his plate.

I went to the kitchen to see if what he had said about the Lean Cuisine's was true, which I highly doubted, since I had bought at least eight last week.

I walked by the bathroom and into the threshold of the kitchen, then stopped. The pregnancy test. I had completely forgotten.

I took two steps across the narrow hall and paused at the bathroom door. In that cabinet was something that might change my mind. I was tired of lying to myself about it. I thought that I was pregnant.

I shut the bathroom door behind me and opened the cabinet. There, on top of the extra toliet paper, was the purple test. With shaking fingers I lifted it up and, closing my eyes, stood.

Okay, I told myself. This is going to be easy. Just open your eyes and read it. Just do it. Just go for it.

But I couldn't help but wonder if I was leaving Jesse out. Shouldn't he be here, too? Shouldn't he be the one reading the results to me?

But what if it was negative. What if I just freaked him out over nothing. Besides, this was just a precaution, right? Before I went back on my birth control. Just to be sure. Just to make sure I wasn't . . .

I opened my eyes.

Pregnant.

The test dropped into the sink. I looked at myself in the mirror. My fingers went to my cheeks, which were red. My eyes were big and my mouth shook. The sight of me made me even more upset, so I just picked up the test and went into the kitchen. I sat on the cold counter and looked at the test again.

Pregnant. Pregnant.

How could one word mean so much? Because pregnant didn't mean _just_ pregnant - it meant gaining weight and swollen feet and puking my brains out. It meant setting up the nursery and buying clothes and toys. It meant mommy and daddy and never getting any privacy ever again. Or, at least, for eighteen years, and by that time I would be way to old to enjoy sex the way I do now.

It meant so much. Pregnant.

Jesse walked into the kitchen, and when he saw me he hurried to me, asking, "Susannah, what's the matter?"

He came to stand in front of me. I wrapped my legs around him and handed him the test.

"Why do you have a thermometer?" he asked before taking it, then sucked in a deep breath.

"It's not a thermometer," I whispered. "It's a pregnancy test." Then, from out of absolute nowhere, the tears came, and I put my head on his shoulder and cried my eyes out.

No more just me and Jesse. No more weekend getaways. No more staying up to watch late-night TV and eating ice cream and then sleeping until noon and waking up and having sex. No more anything.

And what about me? I was going to get huge, and get stretch marks, and never look good in a bikini again.

I cried until I couldn't anymore, then I just sat there and sniffed, my head still on his shoulder.

He finally, after all that, whispered, "I'm going to be a father," and wrapped his arms around me.

I pushed him away, outraged. "You're _happy_?"

He stepped back, his face shocked. "Why wouldn't I be? Susannah, I have waited almost two-hundred years to be a father!"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be over dramatic."

"Susannah, you never would have had children - I know you. Maybe this, this surprise is to show you what I have been thinking all along."

"Oh my God!" I screamed. "Jesse, I can't believe you! I have to endure nine months of hell while all you had to do was have a freaking orgasm!"

He looked taken aback. "Susannah, that's ridiculous. I . . . I can't believe you said that."

"Well, I did. And I'm not taking it back." I folded my arms. "Besides, it's all your fault. You were the one who forgot the condom in Hawaii."

"You forgot your birth control!"

"Don't you _dare_ try to put this on me, Jesse de Silva."

He stared at me a long time before taking a deep breath and, slowly, walking back over to me. "Let's not fight," he said.

"Humph," was my reply.

"Susannah . . . " he trailed off. I looked up at him.

"What?"

He bit his lip, and changed the subject. "Why don't you go call your doctor? Just so you can have a real test and we can make sure."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, hopping off the counter. I knew the number for Jackie's office, having worked there three years.

"Carmel Obstetrician and Gynecology," the happy receptionist chirped. Did they really have to call it that, I wondered?

"Hey, I need to talk to Jackie. Is she in her office?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

I sat on the desk and rubbed my face. "Just tell her it's Suze de Silva."

"Hold on one second, hon," she said. After a very long minute I was connected to Jackie's office.

"Dr. Fraser," she said. I could hear her typing away at her keyboard.

"Hey, Jackie. It's Suze."

"Suze! You promised you would come and have lunch with me, and you never have."

"I know," I sighed. "In fact, I was wondering if I could stop by today?"

"Sure, Suze. But you had better bring some cake."

"Actually, it's not for lunch. I think I may be . . . well, I am pretty positive I - "

"Am pregnant? Oh, Suze! This is great! Have you taken a test?"

"Yeah," I said, shaking out my hair a little. "It was positive."

"I'm so happy for you, honey! I can't wait to see that little bundle of joy - it's going to be so beautiful, coming from you two."

"Thanks," I said with a nervous laugh. I suddenly thought I was going to puke, and not from any kind of morning sickness.

From being scared out of my mind.

"Come on by about five, okay? We'll run a test and have the results in five minutes. And bring that handsome husband of yours, too, okay Suze?"

"Thanks," I breathed. "For fitting me in. I know you're busy."

"Oh, Suze, I would do anything for you honey. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have half the business I do now! I'll see you at five, honey."

I sat the phone on the cradle and put my head in my hands.

L7L7L7L7L7

Five o'clock seemed to never be coming. Especially with all the paper work I had been putting off all morning. But, eventually, the last patient of the day left and we walked, not talking, to Jesse's car. Mine would stay here overnight, I guess. At that point I really didn't care.

Jesse took my hand when we got in the car, but we didn't talk.

The waiting room was empty, and the nurse (the one that replaced me, actually) took us to an exam room.

Jesse was really freaked out by the exam table - you know, the one with the stirrups. He kinda slumped to the corner when we went in.

"Story of my life," I mumbled, sitting on the edge of the cushioned table.

Jesse had turned to look at the pictures of all the babies on a cork board beside him, ignoring me.

The door opened - but it was only the nurse again. She made small talk while she drew my blood, then left Jesse and me in silence again.

I don't know when the tears started, but when they did I couldn't stop them. Jesse came and wrapped his arms around me and whispered sweet Spanish nothings into my ear. I just cried, not caring if someone walked in.

But I had dried up by the time the nurse came in, and she took me to pee in a cup then to Jackie's office, Jesse in tow.

Jackie smiled at me when we came in and told us to have a seat.

"Well," she said, pulling out my chart, "your blood test was very clear, as well as the urine specimen." She pulled off her readers and smiled at me. "You're about five weeks pregnant."

I felt the rest of the blood drain from my face. "Oh," was all I could say.

She pulled out a calendar and started pointing to days in October. "Let's just go with the seventh for right now, huh?"

"Okay," I whispered. Then I grabbed Jesse's arm. "Can you go in to hall for a minute? I'll be right out."

I couldn't look at his face as he left. I just looked up at Jackie. "I can't do this," I whispered when the door closed. "I can't be a _mother_."

She smiled and me. "Suze, I promise you, you can. In a few weeks you will realize how excited you are, and how ready you are."

I took my hand through my tangled hair.

"Here," Jackie said, pulling something off the bookshelf behind her and putting it in front of me. "When I got pregnant with my son, well, I was petrified. I had just got into med school and was engaged. I thought I was going to flunk out and ruin my marriage. But when I bought this book - well, I was so amazed by what was going on inside me, it changed my mind." She pushed the book into my hands. "Read it. Go get some vitamins, don't drink, and come back in four weeks, okay?"

I looked at the book._ What To Expect When You're Expecting_. A pregnancy classic, if there ever was one.

But I was afraid I was going to need something like _Mothering For Dummies_.

"Thanks," I whispered, faking a smile. I stood and went into the hall, where Jesse was waiting patently.

I looked into his clear, black eyes as I shut the door. This was his baby, I realized, a hand going to my stomach. He put a hand there, as well.

"Ready?" he whispered, smiling a little.

I smiled a little too, feeling a little braver. "Yeah, I think so."


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is brought to you by:**

**Oh, La, Ghost Under Rocks, & Can You Tell by Ra Ra Riot :) **

**A Hundred Million Suns (the entire cd!) by Snow Patrol**

**and Coldplay, who I get to see in concert in May! Ah!**

I slipped into the closet and shut the door, then turned on the overhead light.

I finger through all the clothes in my closet and found a black t-shirt, dark jeans, and my black toboggan. A pair of black leather gloves came next, then Jesse's oversized black jacket, which I could fit a crow bar in the inside pocket easily.

I tiptoed through the closet and into the bathroom, where I checked my face in the mirror and fixed the toboggan on my head. Then I turned . . .

. . . and there was Jesse, standing at the threshold of the door.

"Oh," I breathed, forcing a smile. "Hey."

He smiled crookedly back. "Hello to you as well. And where would you be going at one AM? With my jacket, no less."

"Um." I pulled at the jacket self-consciously. My eyes roamed over my husband, in his tight white shirt and plaid pajama pants. He looked good enough to eat. "Just . . . on a walk."

He lowered his gaze. "Susannah."

I sighed. "Okay, there is this kid that keeps bothering me and I was going to the school to see if I could find his record so I could see what happened to him."

"You couldn't ask Father Dominic?"

"Jesse," I sighed. "He retired, remember? And from I hear the new principal is crazy - like, psycho."

Jesse looked me over. "So you were going to brake into a school at one in the morning?"

I nodded.

"Need I remind you that you are two months preg--"

"NO!" I yelled, covering my ears. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Susannah!" he laughed. "You are going to have to admit to it sometime."

"Well, not tonight," I said, and pushed past him. He grabbed my hand as I walked by.

"At least let me come with you," he grumbled, and went to the closet to change. I sighed and leaned against the bedroom wall.

A little bit of moonlight was spilling though the open windows. I pulled the jacket back and raised my shirt. There was my flat stomach, tan and with a diamond stud in my belly button. I took my hand over it so gently I gave myself chill bumps. I was hard to believe it now - that there, underneath innocent looking skin, was something I was going to (one day) love. There was something there that was going to be my life, my everything. Would I love it more that Jesse?

No. I could never love anyone or anything as much as Jesse.

I pulled down my shirt when I heard my husband coming. He rounded the corner and gave me a grave, reproachful look.

"What?" I asked.

"We shouldn't be doing this."

I rolled my eyes. "Jesse, I do this . . . " I saw the look on his face. "Never! That's why I'm so glad you're coming." I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards that car.

We drove to the lot on the other side of the fence that now lined the back school. I scaled it easily and climbed down the other side. Jesse watched me with a hard look and followed my example. When he reached the ground he shook his head at me. I ignored him.

The window to the office could be wiggled opened, which I made Jesse do. He lifted me up so I could easily climb in, then hoisted himself up onto the ledge and followed me in.

Jesse and I would have been a great criminal couple. If Jesse wasn't so damn good.

The key to the record room was in the top of Father Dom's desk, which I was reminded didn't belong to him any longer by the new name plate at the head of it.

"Father Fredrick Head. That's an awful name."

"Why?" Jesse whispered, shutting the window.

"Um, Father Head."

Jesse looked at me in question.

"Jesse. Head . . . ?"

"Oh," he said, and made a face. "_Oh_."

I unlocked the record room door and pulled out a flashlight. I knew exactly where they kept the kid's who had died records - in the very back of the Z drawer. I started going through records, looking at pictures and reading names.

We both heard the office door open. Jesse pushed the record room's door to a crack and I turned off my flashlight, then went to look out the crack of the door.

"Oh, Father," someone, obviously female, said. When my eyes adjusted I saw a redheaded nun and the new principal of the school. He was tall and young, and he looked ripped, even from the back. "I just can't thank you enough. I have no idea what I would do without your guidance."

"It's no problem," Father Head said. The nun, young and thin, sat on his desk and pulled him towards her.

"Oh my God," I hissed to Jesse. He just stared, opened mouthed. They started to rip off clothes, and Jesse put a hand over my eyes. "Stop!" I whispered. "I want to watch!"

"Susannah," he hissed back. "We are not going to stand here and watch something so. . . " He made a disgusted sound.

"Please," I mumbled sarcastically, pulling his fingers away. His hands fell from my face and to my arm, were he pulled me towards the window in the records room and raised the old blinds, then the glass. "You are such a party pooper," I told him. He just lifted me over the windowsill.

We drove in silence back home, and when I opened the front door I felt instantly exhausted. It was so weird - like I had been hit by a truck, or had ran four miles, or something like that. I glanced at the clock when I went into our room - 3:30. That must have been the reason. I was just glad I didn't have to wake up early like Jesse. That's the great thing about the practice - I can come in as late as I want.

I pulled off my Converses and curled up under the blankets, then wiggled out of my jeans. I cocooned myself in the down confronter.

"Susannah," Jesse laughed, and I felt his warm hand on the small of my back. He mumbled, "I love you," but I was too tired to respond.

L7L7L7L7L7L7L7

The next morning Jesse kissed me and told me to get up. I groaned and pushed him away, but couldn't fall back asleep. I flicked the blankets away impatiently and stood, then swayed. My head swam, and my stomach lurched.

_I'm going to throw up_, I thought, then, _What the hell am I doing?! Run! _But a second later it passed. I threw my stomach a suspicious look, then got ready for work, skipping breakfast, just in case.

But as I drove my stomach grumbled and, just as I passed the Krispy Kreme, they turned the hot light on. Oh, man. Hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Chocolate filled, or maybe just glazed. No, no, chocolate filled. With sprinkles.

What the heck, I was pregnant, right?

When I opened the door I saw we had a full house of spring-time allergy sufferers. I smiled at each of them and made my way towards the bathroom to pee, but was intercepted by my husband.

"Where have you been?"

I bit my lip. He looked pretty pissed. How was I going to explain the line at the Krispy Kreme?

Or . . .

"I was sick." I threw him a pity-me look.

His grip on my arm, which had been firm, but in a loving way, relaxed. "Morning sickness?"

I nodded. It wasn't a total lie.

"Oh, Susannah, why didn't you call me? I could have reschedule some people so you could have rested." he pushed the hair away from my eyes and let his fingers linger on my cheek bone.

I almost smiled. I had him hook, now all I had to do was reel him in . . .

"Well, I only threw up a little, and I felt a little better afterwards, and I have a doctor's appointment, so . . . " I shrugged. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close, making me remember I what I had originally came back here for. "Jesse," I whispered.

"I'm sorry I got mad at you, _querida_, I wasn't thinking."

"_Jesse_."

"What?"

"You're squeezing the pee out of me."

"Oh." He let go. "I'm sorry, querida."

"It's okay," I said with a smile, and ran for the bathroom.

Jesse was back out front when I was done, and was pulling open cabinets and messing up my workspace.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Looking for a blank file . . . "

"Blank file. B." I pulled the B drawer open. He smiled at me as I handed him the blank file.

"You're a genius."

"I know."

The rest of the morning passed by quickly, and I was never so happy to see our lunch hour. Jesse was in his office, so I took the steps and threw open his door, then swaggered over to him. He looked up from his computer screen with a smirk.

"How 'bout I go get us some lunch, huh?" I asked, sitting in his lap. "Chinese sounds good."

He smiled down at me. "Sure. I mean, if you can handle a half-dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts with morning sickness, Chinese shouldn't be a problem."

I opened and closed my mouth, then turned towards the computer screen. Damn instant checking account statements.

Damn them to hell.

Jesse wrapped both arms around me and whispered, "Aren't we just the little manipulator today?"

I pulled away so he could see my pout. "But . . . well, I was a little sick. And I didn't want you to get mad at me in my fragile condition."

He handed me twenty dollars. "Get out. And bring food back." He kissed me. "And _no more lying_."

I smiled at him. "Or what? A spanking?"

He gave my hip a playful swipe. "Out."

I jumped up and headed for the door, but bit my lip last-minute and turned. "Doctor's appointment. Four. Can you come? You don't have any appointments - I already checked."

"What is it for?"

"A check up. And a sonogram. She said we might get to see something, and we will hear the heartbeat . . . "

He smiled. "Heartbeat? Already?"

I smiled back and nodded.

"Of course I will come, Susannah. I love you."

Fighting off the urge for some candy, I got the Chinese and brought it back to Jesse. He had been on the phone, but smiled and said he had to go when he saw me with food.

"Who was that?" I asked, handing him a little box of rice.

"Father Dominic."

I paused and looked at him. "You didn't . . ."

"Tell him about last night? No." He opened a plastic fork and ate some rice. "I think that breaking-and-entering is considered a bigger crime than adultery."

"He's a PREIST Jesse! And he's not married, so it's technically not adultery."

He shrugged. "He's married to the church."

"Which goes back to the root problem of HE'S A PREIST!"

Jesse sighed. "It's not our problem."

I leaned forward and felt the tanned skin of Jesse's cheek. He threw me a look. "Who are you? You obviously aren't _my_ Jesse; because _my_ Jesse would be all over this mortal crime."

He sighed. "I don't have time to think about something that I shouldn't have even _seen_, Susannah. I have to finish the taxes and make twenty phone calls and, _Jesucristo, _we're having a baby!"

I rolled my eyes. "Leave the baby worrying to me, okay?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, chewing slowly. "Which reminds me, we need to think about hiring another receptionist."

I pouted. "Am I doing a bad job?"

He kicked my foot playfully. "Well, you are going to have to take off when you're, what, eight months pregnant? In fact, you should take off when you're seven. I don't want you pushing yourself."

I smiled. "Fine with me."

"And then you will be off at least three or four months after, to get settled with the baby. And then we will need the extra receptionist to work a few days a week, so we don't have to have the baby in daycare everyday - "

"Okay," I said, rolling my eyes. "Way ahead of yourself, Jesse."

He sighed. "I just think we should look into it."

I nodded in agreement, eating my last piece of sweet and sour chicken. He sat up and pulled me into his lap and I let out a little squeal. He shushed me and put his lips to mine, kissing me gently. I put my hand behind his head and held him closer, a sudden wave of hormones sweeping over me - in a very similar way the urge for Krispy Kremes had hit me this morning. In fact, this was stronger than the Krispy Kremes.

I started undoing the buttons of his shirt, and his fingers traced the waistband of my jeans. I took my hands up his strong chest and . . .

The phone rang.

"Damn!" I yelled, pushing him away. He looked at me, eyebrow raised, and took a deep breath before answering the phone.

"Hello?" then, "For you," he said with a smile, handing me the phone. "Your mother," he mouthed. I rolled my eyes.

"Hello?"

"Suze, I told you to call me about tomorrow."

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry I forgot. I don't think I have any plans . . ." I threw Jesse a look, hoping he would come up with some. He chuckled and shook his head, then stood and lifted me back onto his desk, which was where I originally was. He walked to the filing cabinet in the corner, buttoning up his shirt as he walked. I sighed again. "No. No plans."

"Good! I started a list. Oh, did I tell you? It's a boy! They're thinking about naming it Aiden."

"Aiden?"

"One of those new-aged names. Please promise me you'll name your child something _normal_."

I paused, my mind flying . . . but no, that was just a passing comment. She didn't know. "I was actually thinking of Carrie's boyfriend on _Sex and The City_."

"Oh, dear, I hope that's not where they got it from." She sighed loudly. "Look, I have to go. I have a meeting. But come over about eleven so we can get a good start, okay, hon?"

"Okay, Mom. Love you. See you tomorrow." I hung up the phone before I heard her reply. "Get over here," I said to Jesse, who was leaning against the cabinet looking at the tax file.

He smiled a little, but didn't look up. "Not not, _querida_. I need to work on this."

"Come on, Jesse! I'm on the hormonal high of my life!"

He looked up at me, eyebrow raised, and said, "Later."

I groaned and went back downstairs. It was almost one, so I unlocked the door and went to sit at my desk.

A lurch in my stomach made me look down. Chinese food might not be my friend today . . .

I put a hand on my stomach. Eight weeks. I woke up my computer and went to Google, then typed in_ first trimester_.

The first site had the development of a baby - my baby - week by week. In the eighth week it was developing toes and fingers, and was a half-inch long.

Toes and fingers. Already.

Jesse came down the stairs nosily, then popped his head around the corner. "When is my next appointment?"

I looked at the book. "You have back to back from one-thirty to three. And our baby has fingers and toes. I just looked it up."

He smiled the smile I had fallen in love with. "Heartbeat? Fingers and toes? What's next?"

"Genitals."

He laughed. "It's later, _querida_."

I raised and eyebrow and he motioned me to the kitchen, where he sat me on the counter. And we made love.

L7L7L7L7L7

The sonogram room was very cozy. There was a lamp in one corner, an exam table with a pillow, and a cushioned chair for Jesse at my side. I hoped onto the exam table and laid down. "I could get use to this," I told him. He smiled and leaned over to kiss my temple.

The technician came in a moment later and, reading my file, smiled down at me. "Let's see if we can't find a baby in there?"

I was a little apprehensive, especially since I hadn't seen so much as a bump on my flat stomach. She asked me to take out my belly button ring, and take off my jeans, which I did. I was relieved I hadn't worn a thong . . .

The goopy gel she put on my stomach was warm, which wasn't what I expected, and she spread it around with the little . . . camera, I guess you would call it. I looked at the screen to my right, and Jesse rested his arms by my head so he could see better.

She pushed hard on my stomach and pointed to the screen. "There," she said. Then there was the faint whoop-whoop of a heartbeat.

I looked where her manicured finger was. "I don't see it," I confessed. She moved the camera a little to the left, and the whooping got louder. The faint, oval object she had pointed at became clearer.

"Do you want pictures, honey?" she asked, pushing harder on my stomach. The whooping got louder.

I don't think I heard her at first, because Jesse answered yes for me. I just stared at the screen, the whooping and the shady images transfixing me.

Oh. My. God.

I could do this.

"That's it? Right there?" I reached for the shady oval, and the technician nodded. I felt Jesse take my hand and squeeze it.

She took some measurements and typed in a few numbers, then took the camera away. But the awesome feeling of certainly stayed. I smiled up at Jesse, who kissed my forehead tenderly. The technician whipped the gel off with a paper towel, then handed me a roll of pictures, tearing them into individual four-by-sevens. I handed them to Jesse and put my jeans on. I felt like I was on some sort of mothering high.

We checked out at the receptionists desk and went to the car, where Jesse kissed me for a good five minutes.

"You know," I said, once he pulled away. "I think I'll call my mother."

Jesse smiled at me. "Let's wait. Until Sunday dinner. That way they can all hear at once."

I smiled and nodded, and Jesse kissed me again. "But there is one person I think we should tell today . . . " Jesse said, and drove towards the mission.

Father Dom answered when Jesse called him, and we met him in the rectory garden.

"Is there something you two needed?" he asked, a little worried.

Jesse smiled at me and nodded for me to go on.

"No, Jesse. You tell him."

He smiled at me and took my hand. "It seems," he said, putting his other arm around me, "that our family is expanding."

Father Dom looked at me for clarification. "I'm pregnant." I pulled the pictures out of my purse. "Meet your future godchild."

He hugged the both of us, kissed my cheek, and took the picture I had handed him. "There," I pointed out. "That little gray oval."

"Oh, Susannah, I am so happy for you! When did you find out?"

"Oh, about six weeks ago. But it's just really set in today."

"She's eight weeks," Jesse said proudly.

"And what's this about godchild?" Father D. asked.

"Well, duh! Your the most qualified person out there, Father Dom!"

He put his hand over his heart. "I'm honored. Truly."

L7L7L7L7L7

Later Jesse and I took a bath. I sat behind him in the tub and ran my fingers threw his wet hair while he lean on my chest, eyes closed.

"Do you know what is in a few weeks?"

He made a thoughtful face, eyes still closed. "Easter?"

"Well, yeah. Other than that."

"I have no idea."

I sighed and hissed in his ear, "Your birthday!"

"Oh, that," he sighed. "How old will I be?"

"Somewhere between really old and really _really_ old," I said with a laugh, "But for everyone else's sake - thirty-one."

"That's not bad," he said quietly.

"What do you want?"

"You."

I sighed. "Come on Jesse. Something else."

He opened his eyes and smiled up at me. "I want a quite evening - no parties - and maybe dinner. And you. Preferably no clothes."

I laughed. "I think I can handle that. And what about a quiet weekend instead? At a bed and breakfast maybe?"

He smiled and nodded, closing his eyes again. "That sounds good. Nothing more, please. Besides, my real present won't be here until October." He smiled up at me.

"Very funny," I said sarcastically, even though his words had touched my heart.

**thanks for the reviews, everyone. i'm happy i have such an early following with this story! **


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